WooCommerce Partial COD - Payment Gateway Restrictions & Fees 1.3.2

WooCommerce does not offer a Partial Cash on Delivery (COD) feature, or the ability to apply conditional fees and gateway restrictions out-of-the-box. This functionality is typically achieved using third-party WooCommerce plugins.1

The main goal of implementing Partial COD is to authenticate orders and reduce the risk of fake or returned COD orders by requiring a small upfront deposit, which is paid using an online payment gateway (like PayPal or Razorpay), while the remainder is paid upon delivery (COD).2

Here is a breakdown of the key features and functionalities related to Partial COD, Payment Gateway Restrictions, and Fees, often found in specialized plugins:

💰 Partial COD (Risk-Free COD) Features

This is the core functionality that requires an upfront payment (the "partial" amount) to confirm the COD order.3

Payment Calculation Types: You can typically set the required partial payment as:

A Fixed Amount (e.g., $5.00 deposit).4

A Percentage of the cart total or product value (e.g., 10% deposit).5

Based on Shipping cost or Tax amount.6

Payment Gateways for Deposit: The partial amount is paid via a different, online payment gateway.7 Popular plugins often support gateways like PayPal, Razorpay, PayU, and Paytm.8 The plugin is configured to:

Show the partial payment options.

Restrict the available online gateways only for this deposit.9

Order-Based Rules: You can often set conditions for when Partial COD is applied, such as:

Minimum/Maximum Cart Subtotal: Only enable Partial COD if the cart value is within a specified range.10

Product/Category Rules: Apply different partial payment amounts based on specific products or categories.11

User Role Restriction: Only require the partial deposit for non-logged-in users or specific customer groups.12

🔒 Payment Gateway Restrictions

This refers to the ability to hide or show specific payment methods (like the default COD or the Partial COD option) based on defined rules.13

Location/Shipping Restrictions: Disable COD (or Partial COD) for:

Specific Countries, States, Cities, or Postal Codes/Zip Codes (often high-risk or non-serviceable areas).14

Certain Shipping Methods (e.g., disable COD for "Express Shipping").

Cart/Product Restrictions: Restrict gateways based on:

Product Type: Disable COD for digital or virtual products.15

Cart Subtotal, Quantity, or Weight.16

User/Time Restrictions:

Disable COD for Guests or for customers with high return rates.17

Restrict COD during specific Days or Times (e.g., outside business hours).

💳 Conditional Gateway Fees

This allows you to add an extra charge or discount that only applies when a specific payment gateway is selected, which is very common for Cash on Delivery.

COD Fee/Handling Charge: You can add an extra fee to offset your costs or discourage pure COD orders.18 This fee can be:

A Fixed Amount (e.g., $2.00 COD Fee).19

A Percentage of the cart total (e.g., 1.5% COD Fee).20

Conditional Application: You can apply the fee based on the same kind of conditions used for restrictions:

Charge a fee only if the cart subtotal is below a certain amount.21

Apply a higher fee for high-risk locations.22

Popular Plugin Functionality Overview (Examples)

Plugins that address these needs often include:

Feature

Plugin Example (Common Functionality)

Partial COD

Offers fixed or percentage deposit, requires an online payment gateway for the deposit.

Gateway Fees

Adds fixed or percentage fees/discounts to specific payment methods (like COD).

Gateway Restrictions

Hides payment methods based on product, category, location, cart total, or user role.

Conditional Logic

Allows combining multiple rules (e.g., "Partial COD required only for orders > $50 and in this shipping zone").

If you are looking to implement this, searching the WooCommerce or WordPress plugin repositories for terms like "Partial COD" or "Conditional Payment Gateways" will point you to the most suitable paid or freemium extensions.

Would you like me to look up the steps to configure the extra fee for Cash on Delivery?